Part 3... Strengths and Weaknesses... The Washington Redskins

I was waiting for this

WRs have a bigger learning curve than most positions, and if those draft picks can figure it out, ‘Skins can be dangerous. That of course is a big if, and you’d expect more flashes of talent last season if they were to explode, but it’s possible.

I agree the corners have displayed enough talent to not be a weakness. When they’re on, they can be really good, but haven’t done it consistently enough to be a strength of theirs.

Some of the best analysis around cuz!
REC’d

halls a good corner .. oakland is stupid .. and fletcher is a stud .. they have a better D than us .. but cambell holds them back

and this was hilarious

3) The Pass Rush

(No Picture – There are no known photos of the Redskins pass rush in 2008)

I keep asking myself that same question. Maybe they think Fat Albert will take care of everything on their D-Line, just like Jason Taylor was supposed to last year.

When I get time later, I’m going to break down your analysis. Brief summary:

1) Unquestionably, our corners should be a STRENGTH. You’re still in denial on that one.

2) The pass rush should be an “Other concern”, not weakness. I’ll explain later.

3) Another concern (and possibly weakness due to inexperience) that you should have listed is Zorn. I really like what I’ve seen from him this off-season, but it might be a make-or-break season for him also with Cowher, Shanahan, and other “proven” HCs possibly on the market next year.

4) Mike Williams is down to roughly 380 lbs. (2 weeks ago) and his goal is to be at 365 lbs. by training camp. He started out in Jan. at 450+ lbs.! IF he makes the team, he will be a backup OT.

5) The plan for Orakpo (at this point in time) is to play him at OLB on 1st and 2nd. Then bring him up to the line and put his hand in the dirt for 3rd (or 4th). That may obviously change during or after training camp/pre-season. He runs a 4.6, but if he plays OLB, he will probably be the biggest 4-3 OLB in the league at 6’3", 260+lbs.

I think London Fletcher was probably one of my favorite LBers. He is a gut busting LB who is always where the ball is. I think he is way underrated, I think that is because of his size though. He is a class act too. How many times do you hear his name? Never, because he does his job well and shuts the F up.

Portis has high miles and it started to show nearing the end of the season. His knees will soon match buckhalters. What no more Shaun Alexander?

I’d Take Cooley’s wife all day. I’m a brunette fan all day.

I live 25 min from Six Flags. I haven’t been there in years because it is ran so shitty. I love the rides but it’s employees/hospitality, regulations are cleanliness are messed up. I’d rather drive 2 hours to Busch Gardens just to get better service. Dan Snyder owns Six Flags and it has now gone Bankrupt. Shocker.

I voted NO to the poll. I have the Cowgirls in last place with the Redskins in a comfortable 3rd, still missing the playoffs.
Redskins fans have now nicknamed Orakpo “Osackpo” ….too funny..

Damn I hate that picture of jacobs running over landry

To get things started, i think everyone agrees our line is suspect and would be good for an 8 game season… but it’s not, we have done some things to make it a younger group and chad reinhart i believe is ready to step in to replace randy thomas (a solid aging guard who played last season with a serious neck injury) if he goes down. But really, I’m pissed that we didn’t do more to address our o-line problems this offseason. The coaches seem pretty confident that the guys they have will get the job done, but I dont know.
Our WR’s are definitly suspect, and it is definitely riding on devin and malcom to step up. I think we’ll see devin thomas step into the number two spot this year. He was drafted after his junior season and rarely do wr’s come in and produce so it should be no surprise that he wasn’t productive last year for us especially after missing action due to nagging injuries. Him and JC have been working together all off-season to get on the same page and hopefully they’ve made some chemistry.

Pass rush a weakness?
Now I know we had little to no pass rush last year, but our off season moves should have at least taken it off the weakness and put into the “Other Concerns” category. Believe it or not we have the depth now to rotate our d-line (like the eagles and giants). We have some promising youth on our d-line that actually has me excited, i’m not saying we have an osi or tuck in training but still, better than renaldo wynn or phillip daniels. Daniels is more about stopping the run, so he’ll be our starting LDE and Orakpo will come in to relieve him on passing downs. Rob Jackson should see alot more time at DE probably giving Andre Carter a rest and if Chris Wilson steps up to converting to OLB, Orakpo would most definitely have his hand in the dirt more. I know the defensive line coach is trying to pressure zorn into having him all to himself and I’m all for it.

Corners:
If you’re going to judge our corners by interception numbers and interception numbers only, then you’re wasting my time. Smoot is old and almost done I agree, but Carlos Rogers is an elite corner. He can shut down any reciever in the nfc east. His only problem is his hands, he has a severe case of butterfingers. He should have a great year and will definitely have more interceptions purely on the fact that he’s probably seeing the pigskin as a wad of money being thrown his way since his contract is over at the end of the season.
D. Hall, i want to believe people when they say he wasn’t in the right system in oakland and I only saw him get burned once or twice after he came to us. He’s an athlete though so hopefully with the right coaching (and system?) he won’t be a flop or MEanglo hall. Supposedly he’s pissed about his Madden rating so… I guess whatever you need to inspire yourself?

Jason Campbell:
I don’t think he’s a question at all, he won’t put up huge numbers but he’ll have a solid year IF our line holds up. Fred Davis and Devin Thomas will definitely be getting more looks this season so his options of who to throw to will be better, but let’s not forget behind a healthy line ESPN was shouting out his name to be a pro bowler. Campbell’s failure last year was that we broke down, and teams figured out our game plan and we didn’t adapt to the changes that defenses made on us. We could move the ball but once we got into the redzone/field goal range we wouldn’t be able to move the ball anymore or we’d be pushed back by stupid penalities. Hopefully Zorn learned from last year and has figured out ways to finish drives.

As for Portis,
hopefully marcus mason, dominique dorsey, or anthony aldridge will step up as the number 2 over betts. Either way we do need a RB to come in the second half with fresh legs to take carries away from portis.

Well, the Skins beat you twice before Haynesworth, before Orakpo, and before Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly spent the last 6 months training w/ Santana, coaches, and Campbell…does that mean you’ll lose by 27 instead of 7 this year? I’m not gonna take away from the Birds…they’ve been a solid team for 10 years, but be realistic…how would you rate your season if OAK doesn’t beat TAM week 17 allowing the Birds in? Anyone can get hot in the playoffs and you lost a terrible game at Fedex at the end of the year. I have no problem w/ everyone under-writing the Skins…they’ve deserved that…but your analysis is as about as thorough as Skip Bayless’s analysis. You’re essentially evaluating the 2008 Redskins with 2 ESPN Headlines.

No questions…Kendra is the hands-down winner on this imho. She said Hef only hit it once (I’m pretty sure). Either way…she’s way hotter.

Has quickly become one of my favorite posters on this sight. Great analysis, crushes other Beast teams’ fans w/ better info than their own…..can’t ask for much more than that. Great stuff again man. I voted no btw. I still like the Chowboys to finish last.

Awfull……………….

Names with a middle “ck” are much more common that names with a single “k”.

 Last year, our defense was ranked 4th in overall defense. Our DL has the same core group of players from last year. But, one of the key reasons why our defense will have a good pass rush this year is Albert Haynesworth. Big Al is, arguably, the best DT in the NFL. He commands double teams. He dictates which direction the Center will move. And he can actually play any position on the DL. Check out this video as Kyle Vanden Bosch (DE -Tennessee) breaks down why Haynesworth is such a difference maker in the game.

Are the Redskins seriously considering playing Brian Orakpo at LINEBACKER?… The other DE’s are such non-factors, I’m not even going to bother mentioning them.

I guess I have to overlook you saying that our other DEs are non-factors. I mean all you have to go on is last year. However, in 2007, Andre Carter had double-digit sacks. Prior to that, he had double-digit sacks in SF before they went to a 3-4 and played him out of position. Daniels (and Wynn for that matter) is definitely not a pass rushing specialist. But he is solid versus the run, and that is what his role will be. Our DEs definitely aren’t elite, but having the best DT in Albert Haynesworth will definitely raise everyone’s game, just like it did in Tennessee.

 
The idea behind trying Brian Orakpo at Will (OLB) is to basically collapse the entire left side of the opposing team’s line. If the Eagles put one man on Carter and two on Haynesworth, who’s going to block 6’3", 260 lb. Orakpo? Westy? If they try to block Rak with Westbrook or McCoy, he will toss them out of the way like a rag-doll.

We really won’t know for sure where Orakpo will play until after training camp. But, like I posted earlier, the plan is to mix him in at OLB and DE in pass rushing situations. He’s definitely got the speed (4.6-40) and power to do both. By having Rak (and Chris Wilson) learn the OLB schemes, it will also make the defense more versatile.

i would take the skinds d in a second over ours .. but we have a better offense and special teams .. and most important we have a good qb .. cambell holds the skins back .. they needed to get cutler